Title: Canadian men’s team has little room for error in deep Olympic group
Date: July 8, 2024
Original Source: Sportsnet
Synopsis: In my latest at Sportsnet, I broke down the Canadian men’s draw for the Olympic basketball tournament, with a quick preview of their group and some other notes.
Part of growing up as an international program is a shift in mentality. From the hunted to the hunter. The little brother to big bro. From the team that fears drawing into a Group Of Death to the team that dictates, by its placement, which group is most difficult.
The Canadian men’s basketball team has spent the last several years establishing itself as what it hopes will be a perennial threat. In doing so, the Canadians have moved past the point of worrying too much about their groupings in international tournaments. It’s rarely going to be easy in the World Cup or Olympics, and in winning bronze in the 2023 World Cup and developing one of the deepest pipelines of talent in the world, Canada should be favoured to come out of just about any collection of teams.
Having said that, this week’s Olympic qualifying tournaments were well worth the watch. Four tournaments took place across the globe, with Greece, Spain, Brazil and Puerto Rico earning the last four berths in the men’s Olympic tournament. Greece and Spain are particularly notable, as they draw into Canada’s group, which also includes Australia.
What follows are some scouting and roster notes for the teams Canada will see in France in a few weeks.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 